Early Indo-European Texts

Old Norse

Todd B. Krause and Jonathan Slocum

This page contains a text in Old Norse with a modern English translation.
This particular text and its translation are extracted from a lesson in the
Early Indo-European Online
series, where one may find detailed information about this text
(see the Table of Contents page for Old Norse Online in
EIEOL),
and general information about the Old Norse language and its speakers' culture.

Translation

King Harald Sigurtharson rode on a black horse with a white mark out before
his troop and saw how the retinue was positioned, and he arranged them
further forward, as he then wanted. And during this ride the horse fell
beneath him, and the king from off it, and he said: 'A fall is a good sign
for a journey.'

Then Harald, king of the Angles, spoke with the Norsemen who were with him:
'Do you know that noble man with the blue kirtle and impressive helmet, who
launched himself off his horse?' They answered, 'We know him; that was the
king of the Norsemen.' Then the king of the Angles said, 'He is a great
and princely man, and it is likely that he has come to the end of his
luck.'

Now 20 horsemen ride out before the host of the Norsemen and all are clad
in mail. Then one horseman said, 'Where is earl Tosti -- is he in the
troop or not?' He answered, 'It is not to be concealed that you might be
able to find him here.' Then the horseman said, 'King Harald your brother
would send you greetings and in addition to this, that you should have
protection and the whole of Northumberland; and further he wishes, rather
than you fight, to give you a third of his kingdom beside him.' The earl
answered, 'Now there is a request for something other than the hostility
and disgrace of last winter; but had that been sought before, then sound
and with life would be many a man who now is not, and the kingdom of
England might be none the worse for it. Now we have an alternative; but
what would you now offer King Harald for his trouble?' Then the horseman
answered, 'He said there something of how much of England he would grant
him, he shall have a plot of 7 feet -- and longer by as much as he is
taller than other men!' The earl responded, 'Go now and tell King Harald
that he should ready himself for battle, since something else will prove
true than that which the Norsemen said, that Earl Tosti would betray King
Harald and part with him, he would fight at once, and increase the number
of his enemies; but rather we all will now adopt a single purpose, to die
with honor, or to take England in victory.'

The horsemen rode back. Then King Harald Sigurtharson said to the earl,
'Who was that eloquent man?' The earl answered, 'That was King Harald
Gothvinason.' King Harald said, 'Too long was I ignorant of this. They
came before our troop so that this Harald might not be permitted to
pronounce our men's death-tidings.' 'That is true, lord', said the earl,
'the chief proceeded quite incautiously and that which you say might be
true; we agree on this, but though he wanted to offer his brother peace and
great power, I would certainly be called a worse leader rather if we should
take the offer and I might have awaited such old age that I be my brother's
killer; for it is better to accept death from your brother than to grant
death to him.' 'That one was a small king,' said King Harald, 'and stood
well in his stirrups.' Men say that King Harald recited this verse:

'We went forth in the ranks,

byrnie-less, with blue edges;

helmets shine, I have not mine;

my coat lies on the ship below.'

His byrnie was called Emma; it went all the way down to the middle of his
leg, and was so strong that no weapon had any effect on it. Then King
Harald said, 'That was poorly composed, so I shall now devise another
better verse', and then recited this:

'We do not creep in battle,

before the clashing of weapons,

behind the curve of the shield --

so commanded the lady of the hawk's land, true of speech;

the lady bade me, where meet

skulls and the ice of battle,

long ago to carry on high

the helmet's seat into the clash of metal.'

Now the Angles give the Norsemen a charge and a harsh reception comes in
return, and so the long spears were set and it hit hard against the horses.